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THE SANDMEN
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          "I don't kill people, I terminate runners."

                              - Logan 5 in "Logan's Run"

     The Syndicate is a shadowy Convention at best.  Its leaders
are unknown, its actual members are generally seen in inverse
proportion to their powers.  Unlike the more militant Conventions
like Iteration X and the New World Order, the Syndicate usually
uses sleepers as its primary, front line troops in the ascension
war.  However, for some unknown time, certain of the most
materialistic of its servants have been undergoing a strange
process, not actual Awakening, but an achievement of power very
like that of true mages.  Like the Convention that spawned them,
these 'Sandmen' are shadowy and mysterious.  In fact, for reasons
that will become apparent, they are often mistaken for Men in
Black.
     Sandmen look like the normal human beings they once were,
however, pattern magick reveals that they are more like Matter
than Life.  This ambiguity renders them immune to pattern magic
unless both Matter and Life of appropriate levels are used.  To
Prime they appear awakened but they have absolutely no
manifestation in the Penumbra.  In fact they are both unable to
use, and resistant to, the sphere of Spirit.  They crumble to
dust when killed.
     Sandmen are apparently much harder to field than Men in
Black.  They operate alone or in small groups (no more than 4 to
6).  However, they make full use of their resources.  Each
Sandman will be accompanied by two to five or more sleeper
hirelings, bodyguards, or mobsters depending on the situation.

     Attributes:  Strength 3, Dexterity 3, Stamina 4, Charisma 1,
Manipulation 4, Appearance 2, Perception 3, Intelligence 2, Wit 3
     Abilities:  Alertness 3, Brawl 1, Dodge 3, Intimidation 4,
Streetwise 4, Subterfuge 4, Drive 3, Etiquette 3, Firearms 3,
Leadership 3, Melee 1, Research 2, Stealth 3, Technology 3,
Computer 2, Culture 2, Investigation 2, Law 4, Medicine 2.
     Spheres:  Matter 3, Prime 2, 3 dots in other spheres
     Backgrounds:  Resources 5
     Willpower:  6
     Arete:  3
     Quintessence:  varies
     Paradox:  varies
     Health Levels:  OK, -1, -1, -2, -2, -3, -5, Dust
     Armor Rating:  3 (Advanced Kevlar)
     Special Attacks:  Sandmen may make an Arete roll (difficulty
is opponent's Arete) to 'unawaken' mages.  Successes equal to the
target's Arete are required.  The effect is resisted by Willpower
and can be countered with conjunctional Spirit, Mind & Prime.
     Special Defenses:  A Sandman's pattern can only be directly
affected by conjunctional Matter & Life.  Sandmen gain 3 dice of
magick resistance vs the sphere of Spirit, and any effect they cast
over an area automatically increases the local Gauntlet by one per
success.

FOCI


All Spheres:   Money:  Wealth of some sort is vital to Sandmen in
               working all their magick.  In the cases of Matter
               and Prime, it is the only focus required.  Any
               form of wealth or currency is acceptable but it
               must be recognized and liquid in the current
               circumstances.  Currency, gold, credit cards, and
               checks are examples.  However, in some
               circumstances it may be difficult for the Sandman
               to find a suitable focus.  For instance, when
               stranded in the middle of the desert, drinkable
               water might be the only 'liquid' asset.  Some
               effects require money actually be spent or
               offered, others simply require the Sandman to have
               a significant amount readily available.

Correspondence/Entropy/Time:
     Statistics:  An amazing amount of economic decision making
     is based on statistics.  Governments, insurance companies,
     advertisers, and others are all virtually ruled by
     statistics.  Sandmen tap the Syndicate's substantial
     expertise in this area when employing several of their
     spheres.  They must have an appropriate statistical study
     for the task at hand (no initiative penalty) or a powerful
     statistical calculator or computer (+2 initiative penalty)
     when evoking such effects.

Forces:   Weapon:  "Power flows from the barrel of a gun."  The
          Syndicate takes the 'force' aspect of the Forces sphere
          very seriously.  A weapon of any sort must be available
          for a Sandman to perform Forces magick.  Usually the
          weapon is appropriate to the effect in question.  So,
          stun guns and TASERs are more prevalent then might be
          expected.  Using a weapon (to perform magic) has no
          initiative penalty, but the Sandman must have at least
          one dot in the skill needed to use such a weapon.

Life/Mind:     Drugs:  Sandmen use a variety of legal and illegal
               drugs to control and influence the minds and
               bodies of others (and occasionally themselves). 
               Some Mind effects simply require the offering of
               drugs (no initiative penalty).  Drugs must
               actually be administered for other effects. 
               Depending on the way the drug is given, this may
               take several minutes.  In combat situations
               drugged darts and contact patches are often used.
               These must be administered the turn before any
               effect is used.  Sandmen prefer Progenitor made
               drugs when available, but ordinary ones are quite
               sufficient for use as foci.


Conventional Effects:

Touchstone   Matter *  Prime *
     In the early days of the Guild, merchants would rub a gold
coin against a smooth, dark pebble called a Touchstone, to gauge
it's purity.  Today, all Syndicate-trained mages are experienced
currency handlers and can infallibly judge the legitimacy of
currency and the value of goods - including the quintessence-
based capital of mages.
     [A basic success is all that is need to spot mundane
counterfeiting.  Magickal counterfeits can be detected with a
Perception roll (diff 8).  The Sandman can also quantify
quintessence, differentiating between Syndicate-sterilized and
unapproved varieties, and judge the approximate value (power) of
Talismans and other magickal commodities.]

Alienation (Dissatisfaction)   Prime * *  (Mind * *)
     Using open displays of his own wealth and/or minor financial
indignities directed at the victim, the Sandman can make the
subject depressed and dissatisfied with his life.  Typically, the
Sandman will then step in with an opportunity for advancement...
     [The basic effect works by constricting the flow of Prime
through the victim's life pattern (similar to Rubbing the Bones). 
As a result the victim feels 'hollow,' his life seams
meaningless.  With the Mind component, this Dissatisfaction is
sublimated into an urge (for success, prestige, indulging in
vice, or whatever), which the Sandman can then use to manipulate
his victim.  
     Well Alienated, the character doesn't recover willpower
(unless he indulges the subliminally planted urge in the Mind
version), heals slowly, and generally performs a bit below par
(+1 on all mundane difficulties).  Some Ecstasy cultists are hit
particularly hard by the effect, suffering a +1 difficulty on
magick rolls involving their vice (which just isn't the rush it
used to be) or falling into a spiral of addiction.
     Alienation is resisted by Willpower and can be
countermagicked if the victim is aware of it.  Usually, though,
it will only be cast on those who won't notice it, as Prime-aware
mages can counter the effect by 'jump starting' their Prime flow
with a point of stored Quintessence.]

Seed Money   Prime * *  (Matter * *  or * * * *  or  
                         Forces * * *  or Life * * *)
     Anything a Syndicate mage wants, he gets.  Any commodity, be
it material, technology, energy, livestock, or crops, can be
acquired by making a discrete investment with some would-be
producer.  This isn't a simple matter of buying some readily
available goods - the mage gets exactly what he wants (and, if
he's willing to stretch reality, exactly when he needs it).
     [The Syndicate's version of fueling Pattern creation.  To
remain Static, there is a time delay between the casting of the
Rote and the delivery of the goods.  Any desired Pattern can be
acquired - mages associated with organized crime can even use
Life 5 to acquire slaves.  The Patterns created are precisely as
desired by the mage, and are quite untraceable (they are being
'magickally' created from 'nothing' after all).]
     F/X - If the Sandman takes the spell into 'Field Expedient'
territory, he can coincidentally find someone selling just the
item he needs.

In Vino Veritas   Mind * *
     By sharing any common drug with an unsuspecting subject, the
Sandman can elicit information that he couldn't otherwise get.
     [This rote isn't mind reading.  Rather it puts the subject
in an 'unguarded' frame of mind in which he is much more likely
to let information slip.  Only a basic success is needed (the
subject need only drop his guard for a moment), but the effect is
resisted with Willpower.]

Step on the Little Guy   Entropy * *  Prime * * 
     This effect is a quick and expedient way to hit somebody
where it hurts.  It can be used on sleepers or mages with little
fear of discovery or retaliation, as it is not cast directly at
the victim but into the economy around him.  
     This is the favorite, first round, Syndicate attack.  Anyone
who annoys the Syndicate is going to be hit with it, as a matter
of course.
     [The victim is beset by financial disasters for the duration
of the effect.  His Resources background is effectively reduced
by the Intensity of the effect.  It is an indirect effect, and
sufficient mundane effort can help mitigate the damage - but it
would be a full-time job, at least.  Mages who pay particularly
close attention to their finances and/or use magick to affect
them, may (Wits+Awareness, diff 8) notice the casting and respond
with countermagick.
     Two important notes about this effect.  First, non-Syndicate
mages will need higher sphere levels and more successes to
duplicate this effect.  Second, some Syndicate effects require
financial manipulation of the victim as a focus: this effect does
not count for those purposes.]
     

The Very Best   Entropy * * *  or  Matter * * *  Prime * *
     Sandmen prefer to use the best equipment available.  Given
their wealth based paradigm, this means much.  Firearms and
automobiles are the favorite subjects of the effect.
     [If a Sandman takes the time to personally seek out and/or
commission 'The Very Best' example of the item he needs, he can
reduce the difficulty of any rolls made using the item by the
Intensity of the effect (minimum difficulty 4).  The item will
also have perfect material characteristics and function
flawlessly (ignore one botch on every roll, to represent the
near-impossibility of a mechanical failure or malfunction).
The Entropy version works like 'Statistical Mechanics' (It-X) and 
'Like Clockwork' (Mage2), the Matter/Prime version enhances 
material characteristics and re-enforces the underlying pattern,
with similar effects.]

Mussolini's Schedule   Correspondence * * * 
     Sandmen like to have a predictable escape rout (or routs)
available.  To this end, they keep transportation time tables at
hand.  When the situation requires a quick exit, the Sandman
always knows the fastest way out of town.
     [This effect requires only a basic success to function, and
guarantees the Sandman the absolute minimum travel time to any
destination.  It is not teleportation.]

Truth Serum   Mind * * *
     Sodium Pentothal is the notorious 'Truth Serum.'  The drug
puts the victim in a semi-conscious state in which he tends to
babble, responding to questions before he can think to stop
himself.
     [To be effective the Rote requires a minimum Intensity of 3
and Power in excess of the subject's Willpower - possibly
entailing several doses and protracted interrogation.  The effect
causes the victim to say whatever he thinks.  Thus almost any
question is immediately answered.  The answer may not always be
accurate or precisely truthful, because of the altered state of
consciousness the drug produces, but it cannot be an intentional
lie.]


Field Expedient Effects:

The Blueprints   Matter *
     With his extensive contacts and influence, a Sandman has no
trouble obtaining the blueprints of any machine, specifications
of any product, or floor plans of any building.  
     [This is the basic Matter 1 effect that allows the mage to
analyze - or even see within - a matter pattern.  The Sandman can
only perceive matter - he can know the exact layout and
furnishings of a building, but must go inside and search if he's
looking for a person.  The effect reduces difficulties directly
bearing on the analyzed pattern by 1.  Examples would be:
sabotaging a car, fixing a machine, or searching (or hiding in) a
building.]
     F/X - "How did I know?  Heck, my shell corporation was a
major investor in the project, I've had the plans for years."

Financial Backing   Prime * * * (Matter * * *  or  Forces * * or
                                 Correspondence * *)
     By providing the necessary Funding, a Sandman or Syndicate
mage can help a fellow Technomancer accomplish greater things. 
Any type of venture can be supported with Financial Backing.
     [On a personal level, this effect transfers quintessence
from the Sandman to another mage.  Up to 5 Quintessence can be
transferred per success.  The Sandman can also set up a
continuing stream of quintessence, from a source like a node,
along a physical medium (matter) down power lines (Forces) or
through account transfers (Correspondence).  This can go directly
to a mage, into a storage system of some sort, or go directly to
fueling a magickal effect or even be part of the supply of a
Horizon Realm.]
     F/X - "Don't worry, I'm a rich man, I can get you everything
you need for your little project."  The effect is coincidental as
long as there is a transfer of funds or materials that are useful
to the recipient.  In the case of Syndicate mages, funds are
always useful.

CopKiller(tm) Bullets   Matter * * *  Correspondence * * *
     These special, teflon-coated, bullets go right through all
kinds of body armor like it wasn't even there.  They are favored
by those Syndicate members associated with organized crime.
     [An Intensity of 3 is needed to pattern-disassociate the
bullets from standard types of body armor.  Magickal and very
unusual types of armor are still effective.]
     F/X - Conventional if the bullets are procured (enchanted)
in advance.  Becomes Field Expedient if ordinary bullets are
enchanted in the midst of combat.

Universal Liquidators   Prime * * * *
     When you just don't want something around anymore, call
Universal Liquidators.  They'll take any old thing off your
hands, you'll never see it again... no one will.
     [This effect breaks matter down into raw quintessence and
releases it.  Usually, Vulgar, this particular application is
covered by Coincidence.]
     F/X - Non-descript men in blue overalls drive up in moving
vans.  They remove all of the designated matter (disassembling
and/or demolishing it if necessary), load it up, and drive off. 
The moment they get out of sight, the stuff is gone forever.

Cosmic Downsizing   Prime * * * * *
     It's nothing personal.  You're just not needed anymore... by
anyone... anywhere... ever again.  To use this effect, a
Syndicate Master must - through mundane means - seize all assets,
sever all business associations, and erase every financial record
that involves the victim.  Once this is complete, he's nobody. 
Literally.
     [Cosmic Downsizing is serious magick, requiring a minimum
Intensity of 5.  It causes the victim to slowly fade from
reality, eventually disappearing forever.  To determine how long
this takes, read the Duration chart up-side-down.  Thus 25 Power
would eliminate the victim instantly, while 5 Power would take
days to do so.  The effect is Direct and can be resisted with
Willpower and Countermagicked.
     If the effect takes, the victim will notice an initial
feeling of disconnection (similar to Alienation, above, or
impending Quiet), and will find that he can no longer regain
Willpower or recharge his Avatar.  As time passes he will become
harder and harder to find (similar to Arcane), eventually
disappearing entirely and losing the ability to affect the real
world through mundane means.  For a short time, the character can
still use magick to contact or affect reality, but in this final
stage, he quickly loses contact with his Avatar (lose 1 Arete per
day or hour).  If the effect can't be unwoven in time, the victim
is gone forever.]
     F/X - Since the character doesn't disappear in a rush of
quintessence, as in the usual effects of this type, it's kept
Field Expedient (Coincidental).]

Experimental Effects:

Embezzlement   Prime * * *
     Sometimes warranted to punish or intimidate a reality
deviant, this Experimental effect pulls quintessence from the
victim using the Syndicate's usual medium of exchange - wealth.
To use the effect, the Sandman must steal or otherwise acquire a
significant fraction of the victims net worth - by mundane means.
     [The Sandman uses his resources, influence, and financial
savvy to acquire the wealth of his victim.  Since this is the
focus for the effect, magick cannot be used.  He then confronts
his victim with the bad news and the quintessence transfer is
complete.  Up to 5 quintessence can be transferred per Intensity
of the effect, which can be countermagicked and resisted with
Willpower.  If the effect fails, the mage can scoff "It's only
money" and leave with his quintessence intact.]
     F/X - The effect is Experimental because the Quintessence
being stolen will often manifest in some way consistent with the
reality deviant's paradigm.  When used against Technomancers, the
effect can be Field Expedient or even Conventional.

'Cryptonite'   Matter * *  Prime * *  (Entropy *)
     When facing reality deviants, a Technomancer needs an edge. 
Sandmen and Syndicate mages can always buy one.  The caster uses
his resources to acquire 'Cryptonite' - a slang term for any
substance that is particularly harmful to a reality deviant. 
Even if the deviant in question has no special vulnerabilities an
adequately nasty material can be acquired.
     [The basic version of the rote creates a pattern of Matter
and charges it with free quintessence so that any damage it
causes will be aggravated.  If Entropy is added, the caster can
determine if the subject has any special weaknesses and create
something appropriate, possibly avoiding the Experimental
procedure of charging with free quintessence.  
     Some reality deviants, such as spirits, can be harmed by
prime constructs created with Prime 2 (Enchanted Weapon).  Such
constructs can be made part of the 'Cryptonite,' allowing it to
harm such creatures (though it won't automatically be aggravated. 
Such items are simply referred to as 'special' and are not
innately Experimental.]
     F/X - If the subject has any genuine weaknesses to a mundane
substance (like a Garou to silver) or if a 'special' weapon will
suffice, the effect is merely Field Expedient.  Otherwise, the
charging of the 'Cryptonite' with free quintessence makes the
effect Experimental.

Exploration & Development   Prime * * *  Matter * * *
     The world is full of resources.  Unfortunately, so many of
them lay untapped, or worse yet, are in the hands of fools who
don't know how to exploit them (Dreamspeakers, Werewolves,
'faeries,' etc...).  When the Syndicate has the opportunity to
tap a new or newly liberated resource, this is the effect they
use.  Individual Sandmen would never make the attempt, but many
of them are familiar with the procedure so that they can assist
Syndicate mages.
     [Exploration & Development is the Syndicate version of
Awaken the Sleeping Earth from the Book of Chantries.  It taps or
awakens a node (the Syndicate prefers the word 'resource').  The
procedure is experimental if performed in the field by an
individual mage.  When done properly, working through channels
with many others, the Paradox is greatly reduced.]

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